Dustpan with automatic sweeping mechanism



April 4, 1950 v. FlLoNowlcz DUSTPAN WITH AUTOMATIC SWEEPING MECHANISM Filed Sept. '10, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 4, 1950 v. FILONOWICZ DUSTPAN WITH AUTOMATIC SWEEPING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 10, 1945 Wzb gg f Patented Apr. 4, 1950 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DUSTPAN WITH AUTOMATIC SWEEPING MECHANISM 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a combination sweeper and receptacle primarily adapted for use in removing loose refuse particles from floors and floor coverings.

The principal object of the invention is to simplify the household task of removing dirt or dust from floor surfaces heretofore accomplished through the use of dustpan and brush by eliminating the necessity of stooping or kneeling down as well as the necessity of using both hands and two cleaning instruments at the same time. I

Another object of this invention is to provide a more efficient means of sweeping particles into a pan by utilizing a rotating brush which uniformly and continuously sweeps the particles up and into the pan instead of the straight and irregular sweeping action effected by the use of an ordinary dustpan and broom.

A further object of the invention is to combine in a single cleaning instrument the functions formerly served by carpetsweeper or dustpan and brush but utilizing a construction that is far simpler and more economical to manufacture than the present carpetsweeper.

Another object of this invention is to facilitate and simplify the removal from the receptacle of dirt collected therein by a unique method of raising the brush out of the way allowing the dirt to be emptied as from an ordinary dustpan, thereby eliminating the necessity of opening dirt chambers as in the case of the normal carpetsweeper.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a floor cleaning mechanism that will operate effectively on both smooth floor surfaces and floor coverings such as carpets or rugs.

These and other objects will appear more fully from a study of the following more detailed description and by reference to the drawing forming a part hereof and wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the invention in normal operating position;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof with the end of the handle broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view thereof showing the brush raised to the pan-clearing position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4 and showing notch in pan engaged in hole in brush-carrying member; and

Fig. 6 is a side view of the entire mechanism in operating position.

As shown in the drawing, the preferred form of my invention comprises as major elements a collecting pan ll, handle I 2, driving wheels I3, brush-carrying member l4, a driving belt l5, brush pulleys I6, a, cylindrical brush I! and a brush-clearing member I8, formed as a part of the brush-carrying member I4.

Motion is transmitted to the mechanism through the handle H which is attached by a suitable bracket um to the bottom surface of the pan ll between the forward edge 20 thereof and the driving wheels IS in a, manner facilitating the application of desired pressure to the forward edge 20 of the pan and the driving wheels I3 during' operation. The ortion of the driving belts on the lower edge of the driving wheel contacts the floor surface during operation thus serving as a tread for the wheels as well as a driving means for rotating the brush. Forward movement of the pan and the resultant forward rotation of the driving wheels impart tension to the lower portion of the driving belt thus rotating the brush in the direction required to sweep particles into the pan.

Since the member l4 carrying the brush is rotatably mounted on the same axis as the driving wheels, tension in the lower portion of the belt also serves to create a moment about said axis tending to rotate the brush-carrying member downward. This action serves to keep the brush in contact with the floor surface at an effective and uniform pressure independent of the pressure transmitted through the handle to the forward edge of the pan.

When pressure is applied to the mechanism through the handle !2 while it is being moved in a backward direction, the brush will be automatically raised to the pan clearing position shown in Fig. 4. The forces operative to produce this raising movement may be understood when explained in connection with an examination of Fig. 2. Backward movement of the mechanism to the right, as shown in Fig. 2, will produce a clockwise rotation of the driving wheels 13 which will, in turn, create a tension in the top portion of the belt l5 tending to rotate the brush l! in a clockwise direction. At the same time, the lower portion of the belt i5 will be free of tension since it will comprise the idling or return portion of the belt at such time. The tension in the upper portion of the belt I5 will be acting along a line spaced from the pivotal axis of the brush carrying member I4 by a distance equal to the radius of the wheel I3. Thus, a moment is created tending to rotate the brush carrying member M in a clockwise direction. The frictional resistance of the brush bearings, as well as the resistance to rotation offered by the clearing edge combine to resist rotation to an extent sufiicient to permit a tension in the upper surface of the belt which is adequate to raise the brush to the position shown in Fig. 4. In the raised position a hole 2| in the brush-carrying member engages with a corresponding detent or projection 22 in the side of the pan to hold the brush in a raised position throughout the emptying operation. Upon returning the mechanism to use, the moment resulting from forward motion disengages the notch 22 from the hole 2| and returns the brush to operating position.

It will be noted from an examination of Fig. 2 that the forward edge of the pan is located somewhat back from the contact line of the brush with the surface to be swept thereby and that the bristles of the brush are traveling upward as they pass said edge. This upward sweeping motion is highly effective in sweeping dirt particles into the pan. Particles clinging to the brush are cleared into the pan by the edge l8 of the brushcarrying member formed to contact the surface of the brush.

It will be further noted that the brush wheels which carry the belt have a substantially smaller diameter than the brush itself, causing the perimeter of the brush to move at a speed in excess of the rolling speed that would result if their diameters were equal. This causes the ends of the bristles in contact with the floor surface to sweep past such surface brushing dirt particles into the pan. The relative speed at which the bristle ends move backwards past the floor surface will be proportional to the ratio of the diameter of the brush to the diameter of the brush wheel.

While a preferred form of the invention is illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that certain modifications and adaptations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combined dustpan and sweeper comprising a sheet metal dustpan having a pair of side walls and a bottom terminating at its front end in a refuse collecting edge, a transverse axle shaft fixed in, and having its ends projecting outwardly of, said side walls, a pair of grooved pulley driving wheels rotatably mounted on the projecting ends of said axle shaft, one on each side of said pan, a pair of brush-carrying arms pivotally mounted on said axle shaft for free swinging movement thereon, a rotary sweeping brush having a spindle journaled in said arms adjacent the front ends thereof in such position as to cause the periphery of said brush to be normally held in contact by gravitational force with a surface to be swept immediately adjacent to and forwardly of said collecting edge, a pair of grooved pulley wheels fixed on said spindle, one on each side thereof in longitudinal alignment with said driving wheels, and a pair of open driving belts trained about said driving wheels and said pulleys, said belts having a fiat face projecting outwardly beyond said groove to form a tread surface for frictional contacting engagement with said surface whereby when said dustpan is propelled in a forward direction the said frictional engagement of said belt will cause a tensional pull to be exerted on said swinging arms by the lower run of said belts to force the periphery of said brush with a pressure greater than said gravitational force and exerted uniformly across the full width of said brush and to rotate said brush in a direction such as to cause it to sweep refuse backwardly over said collecting edge and into said pan.

2. A combined dustpan and sweeper as set forth in claim 1 in which a tensional pull will be exerted on said swinging arms by the upper run of said belt when said dustpan is moved rearwardly thereby to cause said swinging arms and the brush carried thereby to be moved to an elevated inoperative position relative to said pan and said arms are provided with rearward extensions, said extensions and side walls being provided with cooperating notches and detents for retaining said arms and brush in said elevated position.

3. A combined dustpan and sweeper as set forth in claim 1 in which a propelling handle is pivotally secured to said dustpan on a transverse axis located substantially midway between the front collecting edge of said pan and the area of contact of the tread surface of said belts whereby downward pressure exerted on said handle will cause said collecting edge and said tread surfaces to be simultaneously urged with substantially uniform pressure into contact with the surface to be swept.

VICTOR FILONOWICZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 259,856 Hinkley June 20, 1882 541,495 Paris June 25, 1895 543,920 Bierbach Aug. 6, 1895 593,075 Barth Nov. 2, 1897 1,350,664 Merriman Aug. 24, 1920 1,483,972 Hoover Feb. 19, 1924 1,972,870 Christensen Sept. 11, 1934 

